author

William Staats

A longtime Hudson Valley teacher turned local historian, this author wrote with warmth about family roots, river towns, and the humor of campus life. His books blend personal memory with regional history, especially around Albany and the Hudson River.

1 Audiobook

A tight squeeze : or, The adventures of a gentleman, who, on a wager of ten thousand dollars, undertook to go from New York to New Orleans in three weeks without money, as a professional tramp.

A tight squeeze : or, The adventures of a gentleman, who, on a wager of ten thousand dollars, undertook to go from New York to New Orleans in three weeks without money, as a professional tramp.

by William Staats

About the author

Born in Albany, New York, in 1932, William L. Staats grew up at Hoogebergh and in Rensselaer. After graduating from Van Rensselaer High School, he studied at what is now the University at Albany, with a break in the early 1950s to serve in the U.S. Navy.

Much of his professional life was spent in education. He taught at Chatham High School and Hudson High School before joining Hudson Valley Community College in 1961, where he taught accounting and computer courses, later serving as chairperson of the accounting department. He retired in 1995 and continued teaching part time for several more years.

As a writer, Staats drew on both personal experience and a deep connection to the Hudson Valley. Three Centuries on the Hudson River explores family and place through the story of Hoogebergh, while Campus Capers on the Hudson turns decades of college teaching into a light, humorous collection of recollections.